


Lessons and Who Teaches Them.

by ur_local_aang_kinnie



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Air Nomad Genocide (Avatar), Angst, Canon Compliant, Fire Nation (Avatar), Fire Nation Royal Family, Found Family, Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Internal Monologue, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Propaganda, Team as Family, Worldbuilding, Zuko (Avatar)-centric, Zuko's Scar (Avatar), headcanons, no beta lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:47:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29303721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ur_local_aang_kinnie/pseuds/ur_local_aang_kinnie
Summary: Zuko considers what he learned from his schooling, what he learned from his banishment, and what he learned from his friends.
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Mai/Zuko, Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	Lessons and Who Teaches Them.

As any noble Fire Nation child would, Zuko started his tutoring at the age of five. He would spend the first part of his lesson reviewing basic arithmetic, then Fire Nation history, then calligraphy. Then the young prince would be given a twenty minute break for lunch before the rest of his lessons would be spent on his Fire Bending training. Zuko didn't particularly enjoy his lessons but he did fine in them. Fire bending practice was much more fun than his standard lessons of words and numbers, but his instructor was harsh and demanding, leaving little room for error. When Uncle was home form the war front, occasionally he would get a lesson from him, which were often much more enjoyable than the rest of his training, but that was usually short lived.

As he aged, Zuko mostly forgot his arithmetic lessons. He had never enjoyed them, nor had he ever been particularly good in the subject, but once he became Firelord the bits and pieces of information he did recall were quite useful when it came to making trade agreements or dealing with the economy.

Zuko usually considered calligraphy to be his best academic subject. The art came naturally to him; his hand held the brush as if it was fit to feel the handle beneath its grasp and his penmanship rivaled that of adults, even when he was a child. His calligraphy teacher was a much kinder man than most of his other tutors, not reprimanding Zuko for his mistakes but rather encouraging that he try again and learn from his failures. Understanding traditional Fire Nation calligraphy was critical when it came to his political career as an adult; not only for writing and signing documents and declarations but also as a symbol of national pride. Calligraphy, especially that which uses ink blocks made from the soot of a Fire Bender, and a brush hand crafted by the best wood workers and craftsman in the Fire Nation, was an incredibly important aspect of high class Fire Nation culture. Many Fire Lords before him had been known for their penmanship and even their poetry and although Zuko wasn't ecstatic to share the talent with certain people who fell under that category, he still knew that it was important to maintain a strong grasp on his abilities in penmanship and calligraphy. Besides, he liked to write. It was good practice for his swordsmanship too, it was almost a way for him to train when he wasn't able to find the time to actually practice his skills.

History class was different. Zuko wasn't bad at his history class, but he often asked questions he wasn't supposed to. The subject itself he was fine in; Zuko remembered dates well and understood the cause and effect off different battles and events that took place long before his or his father or even grandfather's birth, but he never seemed to grasp _why_ certain events happened. Why where the Air Nomads so evil, evil enough that we had to kill all of them? Was it truly possible for a group of people to contain that much vicious energy inside them; enough that they had to be completely wiped out to the point that no one remembers even the bare minimum of their culture? What about the Water Tribes? How could a whole group of people be entirely one thing? Certainly not _all_ of them could be savage monsters, hellbent on destroying any society that wasn't their own? Certainly their Water Benders couldn't all be killers, practicing an evil art and leaving the Fire Nation no choice but to get rid of them all? No matter how many times Zuko was yelled at or hit for saying things like that, he never stopped wondering, he only stopped saying those thoughts out loud. 

After he got his scar, Zuko stopped questioning his childhood history lessons. He was taken out of his tutoring courses when he was banished, so Uncle tried to teach him as much as he could, but apart from Fire Bending classes Zuko rarely let him. After all, Zuko was banished now. He had no time to study math or calligraphy or history; he had to find the Avatar. Unfortunately for Zuko, however, learning tends to happen wherever one finds them self, no matter if they want to learn or not. 

The first lesson Zuko was taught by his banishment is that his father was a cold blooded monster. He chose to ignore this lesson since the day he learned it, and he did not acknowledge its truth until many years later. When Zuko first learned what exactly had happened in regards to his father, he was already on his boat, sitting in bed with Uncle by his side. Uncle had tried to tread lightly around the subject, sugar coating it as much as he could, but Zuko could still see through to the truth; he was not supposed to come back to the Fire Nation. Zuko had been sent on a wild rabbit-goose chase around the world and his father truly did not care whether or not he made it home. That was a lesson burned into his face permanently; telling him every morning when he woke up to wash his face, every time he glanced in a reflective piece of metal on the ship, any time he stared into his reflection bouncing on the surface of still water that he would never see the palace garden again. That he would never run his fingers through the sands of Ember Island or feel the waves crashing against his body as the sun shone on his skin like it did there. He would never stare down at the lights of Caldera, watching them turn on and off as the day ended and began. He would never hold Mai's hand under the table again, listening to his sister and Ty Lee giggle at their young love. He would never get the chance to argue in his history class again, or to be complimented on the way his held a brush to paper or to be reprimanded because he could never get the hang on division. That is, unless, he found the Avatar. 

The second lesson Zuko was taught by his banishment was that his nation was not the worlds great savior, protecting all those in need from harm and ridding the world of evil. No, upon arriving to the Western Air Temple and watching himself and his men find nothing but bones he knew that he had been right to question his nation as a child. As he held the skull of a little girl, her burnt robes slumped in a pile of soot backed into a corner, he knew. Zuko spent a long time staring at what was left of her baby teeth. He spent a long time looking at the remains of what looks to have once been a nun, slumped next to the giant skeleton of what Zuko guessed must have been a Sky Bison; those strange creatures were painted all over the walls and Uncle said they had been quite important to the Air Benders, serving as life-long companions. After going to each Air Temple and finding nothing but bones and corpses (as well as a strange old man at one of them) he was sure that his nation was not the high-and-mighty savior it liked to portray itself as. Zuko ignored this lesson, too. 

The third lesson Zuko was taught by his banishment is that war is hell. He had know the war was bloody and harsh for some time before his banishment, but as he wandered the Earth Kingdom, making his way quietly through village after village, hearing the stories of loved ones who had not yet returned, as well as those who did but were never the same, he knew. As he stared at the cemeteries, sometimes having larger populations in them than the village itself, he knew. As Song pulled up her pant leg to reveal the burn that wound up her flesh like a vine, he knew. As he watched Uncle take one day off from The Jasmine Dragon a year to sit on a hill side next to the portrait of a young man who had his mothers eyes and cry he knew. Even as he watched his sister shoot down the Avatar and take Ba Sing Se, he knew. Zuko wouldn't dare say so out loud, but he knew. 

Zuko hadn't had any _real_ friends until he officially joined the Avatar's friend group. Before then, sure, he had Mai and Ty Lee and even Lu Ten but they were chosen for him. Ty Lee's family were high class nobles, and although the children didn't know this at the time she had been hand selected as the child to befriend Prince Ozai's children. The same went for Mai, who's father had been close with Ozai even before he became Firelord. They may have gotten along fine, but they were not friends Zuko chose for himself. When he arrived at The Western Air Temple, Zuko wasn't looking for friendship, though. He wanted to end the war, he wanted to teach the Avatar Fire Bending. Whether or not they became friends wasn't something he cared, or even really thought about. However, friendship, like knowledge, tends to happen wherever one finds them self. 

The first person to accept him as a friend was Aang, who Zuko learned a lot from. The first being that his childhood suspicions had been right; the Air Nomads weren't all bad. At the very least Aang was a good person, that was obvious from the start. Zuko was a bit hesitant to bring up the Air Nomads with Aang at first. After all, Aang was the only surviving Air Nomad on Earth; he was probably quite upset about what happened to his people and although at the time Zuko didn't know the whole story, he knew that his great-grandfather were the reason Aang's entire race was gone; asking him about them didn't seem like a good idea. After their excursion to the ruins of the Sun Warrior Civilization, though, the topic sort of came up on its own. Per usual, Aang had been talking about whatever came to his mind, which eventually lead to discussion of his friend Kuzon. Aang brought up Kuzon often, and Zuko usually didn't listen, but today he did. He let Aang tell him stories about his adventures with the boy, only a few of them actually seemed real but Zuko decided to give Aang the benefit of the doubt and assume things were just different one hundred years ago. Zuko built up the courage, about half way through, to ask Aang about the Air Nomads. The younger boy didn't hesitate as he started talking, telling Zuko anything and everything he thought of, and although Aang wasn't the easiest to follow in regards to his long stories, Zuko listened. After that day, Zuko found himself asking Aang a lot of questions. What was the Fire Nation like one hundred years ago? What did his tattoos signify and how did he get them? What was the Spirit World like? The others in their group found it odd how long the two of them could talk, but Aang found it endearing. They balanced each other out, in a way, Zuko was good at listening and asking questions and Aang was good at talking and answering those questions. Zuko had forgotten how curious he could be before his banishment.

Sokka was the second person to accept Zuko as a friend, mainly for the purposes of getting Chief Hakoda out of prison. Sokka seemed to feel the same way about Zuko that Zuko had initially felt about the rest of the group; friendship was a secondary concern of a much bigger mission. However, after his interactions with Aang, Zuko was beginning to crave actual relationships with the other members of his new found team. He was going to be spending much more time with them than anticipated, anyways, what was the point of only being acquaintances? Team mates? Allies? Zuko didn't bring this up, but he thought about it often as they made their way through the prison. After a few days, he trusted Sokka much more than he thought he would. This boy who he had once fought with at the south pole, who he had chased around the world, had proven to be a formidable enemy and a strong fighter. More than that, though, he was a good person. Although they were in an incredibly dangerous situation breaking into that prison, Zuko actually found himself having a bit of fun. Sokka had this...energy about him; an aura, as Ty Lee would have said. he was excitable and strong, easy to talk to. Being around Sokka was easy, he didn't really have to watch his words and carefully avoid certain things, he didn't have to be someone he wasn't. Sokka's energy was infectious. Zuko had forgotten how nice it was to be with someone like that, even if they were in terribly scary or dangerous situations. 

Toph had never really disliked him, from what Zuko understood. Maybe it was that she didn't have the history with him that the others did, she hadn't watched him (felt him? Zuko still was a bit confused on how she used her Earth Bending to see things) burn down Kyoshi Island or shoot Fire Balls at Appa as he flew away. It's not that Toph didn't understand that he had a history of trying to capture her friends, but she just didn't seem to care. Zuko brought it up with her once, when they were the only two people awake on a late night, and all she said was that he wasn't doing those things now. Zuko hadn't really thought about it that way, neither had anyone else, really. Toph really seemed to live in the present, though. Even more so than Aang, maybe, which was odd considering Aang had told him about how Air Nomads tried not to "concern themselves with what was". He asked why she wasn't mad at him for burning her feet and she had the same answer. Zuko had forgotten what it was like to live in the present. 

Katara was the hardest to get through too, but once he did, he felt complete. Even before then, though, Katara taught him a lot. She taught him that siblings were supposed to be friends, not enemies. Watching her interact with Sokka bordered on confusing; they teased each other, sure, but when one of them was hurt the other would step in to help, Katara would always make sure that Sokka ate his food and Sokka always made sure Katara was safe. Katara also taught him, once they became friends, that he was not alone. Once he earned her trust, she was kind and compassionate. They talked a lot, almost as much as he talked to Aang. They related on the subject of their mothers both having been taken by the Fire Nation. She was the first person in the group who knew the details of his scar. In the end, she sort of became another little sister to him. A little sister who actually cared about him and wouldn't though him under the bus in exchange for power if needed. A little sister he could spar with without being worried he might get seriously hurt. A little sister that didn't try to guilt or blackmail him into doing what he wanted. Katara was everything Azula wasn't, but she was still powerful. Zuko had forgotten what it was like to relate to someone like that; in fact, he wasn't sure he ever knew in the first place. 

Zuko learned a lot throughout his life, from many different people. Many of the things he learned were true, many of the things he learned were not. Many were not things he wanted to accept at first, and many did not want to accept him. In the end, though, he knew. He knew that the world wasn't perfect but he was going to get it as close as he could while he still had time. He knew there were still people out there who wanted to hurt him or his friends or his family but he knew he wouldn't be alone in fighting them. He knew a lot of things; but most importantly he knew that he was not alone anymore, and that was a good thing. 


End file.
